A former British coin worth one-quarter of a penny, used until the 1960s.
From Old English 'feorðing,' derived from 'feorða' meaning 'fourth.' The word literally means 'a fourth part,' referring to the coin's value as one-fourth of a penny. It remained in circulation for centuries as the smallest denomination of British currency.
The phrase 'not worth a farthing' meant something was completely worthless—imagine if today we said 'not worth a quarter-cent!' What's wild is that farthings disappeared from British currency in 1960, making them historical relics that confused tourists for generations.
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